Future On The Breeze
by CayshaGriffin
Summary: A daily ride outside the castle with her friends reveals beautiful things to DG that are normally hidden from the world.


Disclaimer: Tin Man and all the wonderful characters that romp in it do not belong to me. whimpers

Author's Note: This is a response to purplerino's Picture FanFic Prompts Challenge. I picked a picture of this beautiful tree with a trunk shaped like a human dancer and this is the story it turned into. Hope you enjoy!

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"What the hell?" DG mumbled, pulling her horse up short to look back at what appeared to be nothing more then a cluster of trees by the dirt road. She squinted her eyes at them but nothing seemed that out of the ordinary about them, except for how provocative some of the trunks appeared, almost like posing human forms. Maybe the heat was finally getting to her.

The sound of hoof beats came barreling back in her direction and DG saw her three friends, also on horse back coming her way.

"What's the hold up?" Cain asked as he pulled in beside her, Glitch and Raw as if on instinct or Cain's direct orders before hand, pulled their horses around hers. Making a ridiculous V around DG's horse that was probably meant to protect the Princess from oncoming attacks, but at the moment kept said Princess from being able to move.

DG raised an annoyed eyebrow at the paranoid Tin Man, which he answered by raising an eyebrow of his own. "What?"

" I thought I saw something." DG said dismissively, already feeling silly for stopping the whole group on their daily ride for this. "It's probably nothing, though."

But Glitch's interest was peeked.

"Really? What did it look like?" The half brained advisor asked excitedly, standing up in his saddle to peek around in hopes of catching sight of something interesting.

DG laughed a little at Glitch's child-like enthusiasm. " I thought it was a person for a moment, but it ended up being some odd trees. The wind must of gone through the branches and caught my attention."

All three men looked in the direction she was pointing and spotted the strange array of trees. But it was no longer in the erratic formation DG had seen a few minute ago.

The small trees, no taller then a munchkin were now perfectly aligned in a circle, trunks and branches arranged as if they were holding hands to keep the circle intact.

Leaving a singular tree in the center, looking for all the world like an elegant ballerina poised on one foot, even the feminine curve of the trunk leant itself to a dancer's body. Its main branches perfectly represented the arms and legs and even the head of the dancer, arms raised above her head, head thrown back. The limbs continuing to grow out with twisting twines and lush green leaves, like a free fall of evergreen hair. She looked so life like that DG was amazed she couldn't see the tree breathing.

"Tree Dancers." Raw whispered with a soft awe.

"Isn't it a bit early in the season for them to be out? Not to mention this close to the road." Cain asked wearily from his horse, not noticing until he spotted movement that Glitch had dismounted to inspect the trees.

"Glitch!" Cain barked, and the advisor stopped mid step, foot comically suspended in mid-air. DG tried to stifle a giggle as Glitch smiled sheepishly up at Cain.

"They don't bite, Cain. Worst thing I'll get is a splinter." Glitch reasoned.

Cain nodded. "All the same, give them some respect. It's no every day you see a Serenade out in the open."

Glitch looked dejected about Cain's words but dragged his feet back to his horse all the same.

"Serenade?" DG asked, her eyes taken away from the trees for a moment to study this new knowledge her friends held about the beautiful trees. "What is a Tree Dancer and what's this Serenade thing?" She asked, waving her hand at the elegantly displayed trees.

"Good tree spirits, part of the forests." Raw supplied first with a proud smile.

Glitch nodded, taking up the narrative to add some details. " Their living spirits, connected to the O.Z.'s most oldest of magic's. They won't move when someone is looking at them, it's a survival instinct they adapted eons ago when people first came to the O.Z. You rarely see them anymore these days since the poachings stopped."

DG looked at Glitch with horror written plainly on her face, eyes wide at the implication.

"Who would want to poach such beautiful things?"

"Corrupt Witches and Wizards started the trend back before Ozma righted things." Cain said from beside her. " They believed the wood of the Tree Dancers had magical energies they could use to further their magic. So they'd uproot the Dancer, take the strongest woods to fashion wands and staffs. Then use whatever was left over as ingredients and healing roots. The lucky ones were moved to personal gardens to serve as magical pets."

"That's horrible!" DG moaned as she looked to the beautiful, living creatures and wondered how anymore could even think to kill one.

Cain squinted his eyes at the congregation of Dancers with clear puzzlement on his face. "Which is why it's so odd to see them so far out of the wood like this." His grey eyes flicked up to DG for a moment as something clicked behind them. " I think you were supposed to see them move, Kid."

"Why?" DG asked, confused.

Cain's mouth twitched into a small smile. "Serenades are traditionally performed by one Dancer Queen to another. And since there's no other tribe in sight, that's makes you the only possible person she's dancing for."

"That makes sense, DG." Glitch said, beaming at her and the situation itself. "You're the next in line to be Queen of the O.Z. So to the Tree Dancers, you're pretty much a Spirit Queen yourself with all the magic rushing through you."

DG blinked. "That's weird." She drawled out carefully before smiling. "But cool at the same time."

"DG, look!" Raw said quickly and everyone looked back to the Tree Dancers.

All the Dancers who had formed the circle and even the Spirit Queen in the center were bowed gracefully in their direction, the lush green of their leaves nearly brushing the ground.

"Wow."

It was all DG could say to fully explain her surprise and awe at the sight.

"Hold this for a second." DG said, handing the reigns of her horse to a curious Cain as she dismounted.

Raw and Glitch pulled their horses aside so DG could walk through. She watched the Dancers closely as she approached and a loud rustling was heard from the leaves as they parted before her to give entrance into the main circle.

DG heard the snort of the horses behind her as her friends tensed in anticipation as to what would happen next as DG stepped through and approached the still bowed Spirit Queen in the center.

DG stopped a few feet away and immediately lowered herself into the most elegant bow she could manage.

The Spirit Queen's reaction was sudden, her leaves shaking almost violently. Making DG take a step back in case she needed to flee, maybe she wasn't supposed to bow back.

But the Queen's rustling ended quickly once a narrow bit of wood fell on the ground with a hollow thunk. DG titled her head curiously to the side as she stared at the bit of wood. When it was obvious this was all the Queen meant to do, DG bent down to pick up the wood and found it smooth and without blemish, the perfect shape and length of a wand. It pulsed with a wild kind of energy that DG had never felt before, true living magic.

DG was surprised and quickly bowed again to the Queen. " Thank you."

She made a smooth retreat from the circle after that, feeling this was all she was meant to see and do for now. And with a hand from Cain she was once more on her horse, cradling the precious gift she'd just been given in her free hand. Feeling the magic within jump and dance beneath her fingertips.

" The O.Z.'s finally starting to notice." Cain said.

DG looked up and she saw a familiar glint in his eyes, one she'd noticed back when they first met. That small glimpse of awe and admiration that he rarely let show, along with the genuine smile that touched his lips.

"You're gonna be something else when it's your turn to rule, DG. I think the O.Z.'s just started figuring that out. And it's about time too." He said before giving small tug at the brim of his hat. "Especially since I saw it the first day I laid eyes on you."

With that Cain clicked his tongue against his teeth, launching his horse down the road at a good gallop. And with an infectious grin, DG was not far behind him.

Glitch frowned. " Hey! I noticed too!" He yelled after them as he joined the race back down to the castle, Raw merely chuckling as they left the Tree Dancer's behind to hide away their mystique from the world once more. Letting a golden era begin with their blessings.

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Author's Note: Reviews are always loved and appreciated.


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